Training Tips
Are you making one of these five training mistakes?
Sometimes the reason one person makes progress in the gym while someone else doesn't is a mystery. Training for most people is like going through a maze...
How to shock stubborn muscles into new growth with reverse training
If you need a fresh way to vary your training programme or shock stubborn muscles into some new growth, then you ought to give reverse training a try...
The three keys to rapid muscle growth
Although entire books have been written about the best ways to train for rapid muscle growth, the basics can be condensed down into three key points. Ignore these principles, and you'll never make the progress you deserve...
The facts about muscle recovery
It's a common belief if muscle soreness has eased, you can train that muscle group again. However, researchers from the USA have shown that your muscles are still recovering from exercise even though they no longer feel sore...
An easy way to tell if you're overtraining
Although there are several reasons why many people struggle to make progress in the gym, one of the most common problems is overtraining. Overtraining occurs when the amount of stress you place on your body is more than it can handle...
How to split your training goals
Many people make the mistake of asking their body to adapt in more than one direction at the same time. Instead, it's far better to split your training goals, and work on them one after the other...
The right way to plan your training programme
It's easy to become so obsessed with your training that you become gullible to the advice of people who don't have the faintest idea of what it takes to build a strong, healthy body...
How to get out of a training rut the easy way
Have you ever found yourself in a training "rut"? You know the feeling. You've lost the enthusiasm to train. The motivation to go to the gym on a regular basis just isn't there anymore...
Do you suffer from scrawny arms, tiny calves, or weak abs?
Almost everyone, at one time or another, has found that one part of their body doesn't grow as quickly as they'd like. Maybe you don't like wearing shorts because your calves are too small...
Revealed! The danger signs that let you know if you're injured
No pain, no gain is a phrase you hear all the time in the gym. However, it's important to distinguish between the pain associated with genuine effort, and the pain of a joint or muscle injury...
Three simple but effective ways to guarantee progress in the gym
It doesn't matter if you're training to lose fat, build muscle, or both. If you want to make progress, you must always try and increase the resistance you're using...
Ego training or weight training - you decide?
Why is there this obsession with knowing how much people around you are lifting? Many newcomers to the world of bodybuilding start off on the wrong foot...
How many times have you picked up a fitness publication for the first time and blatantly did not have a clue what the articles were going on about?...
A simple guide to training and eating for people who don't use drugs
I often get asked how should a natural bodybuilder train? As if some special law of physics must apply if you train without the use of drugs. I've got news for you, bodybuilding is bodybuilding!...
How to fit training into your lifestyle
Chances are that if you're anything like me, you are near enough obsessed with your training, nutritional intake and new ways of building muscle and strength...
How to cycle your training for awesome results
Well, it's Monday, so it must be chest and triceps. It's a good workout and it always gets us back into the swing of things after a hard weekend...
If you take your training seriously then the chances are that you've already developed some sort of workout philosophy, a series of rules or ideas that guide you and help push you through the hard times...
A back-to-basics guide to gym essentials
There are several basic training items that you should possess if you are really serious about making gains in the gym. Many people overlook the most basic items, which in the long run can hinder your progress in the gym...
Researchers find a solution to the stitch
Researchers from New Zealand have provided an insight into what causes the stitch and how you can prevent it...
It doesn't matter what type of gym you train at, or the cost of membership, you will always get the same type of people with the same annoying habits. Here is a list of my top gym irritations...
How many of these five mistakes do you make in the gym?
Mistaking the gym for a social club. Look around at the gym and you'll see that people who are out of shape spend most of their time talking...
The natural way to boost growth hormone
If you're training to lose fat and build muscle, it's vital that you do everything possible to maximise your production of growth hormone...
Do you always train your muscles to the point of complete failure?
Training to failure puts a huge amount of stress on your nervous system - exposing you to the real risk of overtraining...
Back
Five simple steps to a better deadlift
The deadlift is one of the best but most underrated movements for adding muscle mass to your entire body. The exercise involves many different muscle groups, and is...
How to build a better back even if you can't do chin-ups
Because you can't see it, many people devote little time to training their back properly. To build a complete, balanced physique, you need to spend time on all of the muscles in your body (including the ones you can't see)...
The top three back training mistakes to avoid
A well-developed back will set you apart from almost everyone else in the gym. The back is a complex group of many muscles. To train it properly is hard work...
The forgotten exercise guaranteed to add incredible thickness and size to your traps
Here's a little-known alternative guaranteed to add thickness and size to your upper back. It's called the Seated Cable Row to the Neck...
Power rack training - the key to upper body strength
Like the Squat Rack, the Power Rack is, for many weight-trainers, a forgotten or seldom used piece of equipment. It's incredible how many gym users don't know a Power Rack from a toast rack...
The Deadlift: Back killer or mass builder?
One of the best overall tests of strength is the amount of weight a person can deadlift. The deadlift is a powerful compound movement, a total body exercise that affects nearly all the muscles in the body...
Chest
How many of these common bench press mistakes are you making?
A few days ago I visited a local gym and whilst warming up, preparing to train, in walked 'The Bencher'. Perhaps you know him or know someone like him...
Shock your muscles into new growth with this exciting and easy-to-use method
Do you have a muscle or area of your body - the arms, shoulders or chest - that just won't seem to grow no matter how hard you train?...
Discover the fastest way to an incredible upper chest
Experienced bodybuilders and trainers know that the key to developing the chest is often found in working the upper region of the pectorals...
Shoulders
The best way to keep your shoulders injury-free
Your shoulder joint has a large range of motion, but is very unstable. The rotator cuff is a system of four muscles that rotate and stabilise your shoulder...
Build a thick and powerful chest without damaging your shoulders
You've probably always been told that the best way to perform the bench press is to bring the bar all the way down to your chest, right?...
Legs
Legs...The secret to building your whole body
What do you like to work on when you're at the gym? If you're like a lot of the guys I meet, I bet you concentrate on your upper body training. This isn't unusual. We all like working the 'show-off' muscles of the chest, arms and shoulders. But (and be honest) when was the last time you gave your legs the same attention?
Three ways to make leg extensions twice as intense and effective
Leg extensions - properly done - can be one of the most effective (and painful) exercises for your quadriceps, which are the muscles on the front of your thigh...
Revealed! Here's the best way to develop "tree-trunk" thighs
One of the most frequent questions we receive from beginner and advanced trainers alike is what's the best way to directly target the back of the legs...
Shock your body into new growth with this highly effective but neglected exercise
There's no doubt that good old squats are still the best all-round muscle developer out there - they not only work to increase muscle in the lower body, they also stimulate the release of anabolic hormones...
The fastest way to increase the size and strength of your calves
Slow growing calves are an endless source of frustration for virtually all bodybuilders. Located at the back of your lower leg, your calves consist of two muscles - gastrocnemius and soleus...
Are leg extensions really safer than squats?
Although the leg extension is frequently recommended as a "safer" alternative to the squat, new research shows that the squat places no more stress on ligaments in the knee than the leg extension...
How to increase the size and strength of your hamstrings
Most training programmes include plenty of exercises for the quadriceps - the large muscle group on the front of your thighs...
The correct way to perform the deadlift
Anyone wanting to build muscle size and strength should include the deadlift in their training routine. The deadlift helps to build size and strength in your back, thighs, hips, and forearms...
The hamstrings (the large muscles at the back of your thighs) are often neglected. Many people simply throw in a few sets of leg curls at the end of a leg workout...
Going back a generation guys like Reg Park, Bill Pearl, Arnold and Franco all built their huge physiques with hard work on basic compound movements. Of those compound movements the squat was considered...
If you're having a hard time developing your legs, then why not give pre-exhaustion training a try?
When you perform a movement such as the leg extension before the squat, you're pre-exhausting your quadriceps (the muscles in the front of your thigh)...
Arms
Quickly build bigger arms and fill your shirt-sleeves with "Dirty Thirties"
Here's a quick triceps routine called "Dirty Thirties" that's guaranteed to blast your arms to new heights. You begin by laying on your back on a flat bench. Have your training partner hand you a loaded EZ-bar...
Two of the dumbest mistakes about training arms
Most men want big biceps. When women ask you to show them your muscles, they're the easiest muscle to show off without getting undressed. Your partner loves to wrap her arms around them...
A little-known tip for building bigger triceps
The triceps (the muscles on the back of your arm) are often ignored at the expense of the biceps. However, because the triceps make up the bulk of your arm, building your triceps will do more to...
The triceps (the muscles at the back of your upper arm) make up over two-thirds of your arm size. Yet most people neglect their triceps, choosing instead to train their biceps...
Straight or EZ bar: Which one is best for building your biceps?
Although the EZ bar (a shorter bar found in many gyms with "bends" where you grip it) is often used when people train their biceps, researchers from Oklahoma State University have shown that...
Quickly pack size on your biceps with this easy-to-follow routine
You'll often see people in the gym training biceps for 40 minutes or more - no wonder they haven't added even a half an inch to their arms in a year! Short and and INTENSE is the best training protocol...
Abdominals
The best way to reveal your six pack
Many people are confused about the best way to train their abs. Sometimes, the word being spread around the gym isn't entirely accurate. Here are three of the most common misconceptions most people have about training their abs...
Make your ab workouts twice as effective
To add some real intensity to your ab workouts, try this variation of the basic abdominal curl. Lie on the floor in your regular crunch position...
